Flashback: St. Louis Cardinals

April 16 -- Tyler Norrick picked up his third win in as many starts and extended his season-opening scoreless inning streak to 18 as Palm Beach blanked St. Lucie, 4-0. The 23-year-old southpaw scattered two hits and two walks over six innings. Norrick's scoreless inning streak came to an end in the first inning of his next start, an eventual 3-2 win over Brevard County.

April 16 -- Elvis Hernandez of the Swing of the Quad Cities was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. The Dominican native hurled three hitless innings in relief on April 7, and followed by yielding just one hit over five scoreless frames against Peoria on April 12.

April 16 -- Joe Mather of the Springfield Cardinals tore the cover off the ball to start the season en route to being named Texas League Player of the Week. Through his first seven games, the 24-year-old native of Idaho hit .393, reached base at a .452 clip, and slugged a remarkable 1.380.

May 6 -- After hitting .340 and slugging .642 in his first 29 games of the season, Memphis Redbirds outfielder Ryan Ludwick was promoted to St. Louis. The Florida native remained in the Major Leagues for the remainder of the season, slugging 14 home runs in 303 at-bats.
Video: Ryan Ludwick blasts a grand slam

May 14 -- A pair of high-performing Cardinals prospects -- Sean Danielson and Mark Hamilton -- earned Player of the Week honors in their respective leagues. Springfield's Danielson hit .423 in 44 at-bats over a seven-game stretch, which actually lowered his average to .432. Hamilton, meanwhile, hit .400 and smacked three homers. The Palm Beach first baseman's big week was highlighted by a two-homer, five-RBI performance on May 9.

May 28 -- Rick Ankiel hit two home runs and drove in five to lead Memphis to an 11-6 win over Round Rock. The pitcher-turned-outfielder hit an RBI double in the first inning and a solo homer in the third before bashing a three-run shot in the fifth. Nick Stavinoha belted a sixth-inning grand slam, while Skip Schumaker and John Nelson also went yard in the contest.
Video: Ankiel's solo shot in the third
Video: Ankiel's three-run blast in the fifth

May 29 -- Colby Rasmus drove in a career-high seven runs to lead Springfield to a 12-10 win over San Antonio. The former first-round draft pick, who had blasted a pair of solo homers the night before, hit an RBI double in the third inning, a three-run double in the fourth, and a three-run home run in the fifth. Rasmus' big night highlighted a six-game stretch in which he hit .450. Not surprisingly, he was named Texas League Player of the Week in recognition of his stellar play.
Audio: Rasmus' three-run dinger

May 31 -- Quad Cities turned the Minor Leagues' second triple play of the evening and third of the week in its 9-6 win over Clinton. After the LumberKings loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning, John Whittleman hit a line drive to second baseman Jamie Landin, who fired to first base to double up Jose Vallejo. First baseman Brandon Buckman then threw the ball to shortstop Donovan Solano, who stepped on second to retire Marcus Lemon and make history.

June 4 -- Mark Hamilton enjoyed the best ballgame of his professional career, hitting three homers and driving in seven runs to lead Palm Beach to an 11-5 win over Clearwater. The 22-year-old first baseman's big game gave him 10 home runs and 45 RBIs on the season. He was promoted to Double-A Springfield later in the month.

June 8 -- 37-year-old veteran reliever Troy Percival was assigned to Memphis after signing a Minor League contract with St. Louis. The right-hander, who had not pitched since July of 2005 due to a forearm injury and announced his retirement in 2006, compiled a 1.35 ERA in six appearances for the Redbirds. He was promoted to St. Louis at the end of the month.

June 11 -- Springfield's Joe Mather and Palm Beach's Mark Hamilton snagged Player of the Week honors in their respective circuits. On June 5, Mather drove in all five Cardinal runs in a 5-4 win over Tulsa, and followed with a game-winning RBI double on June 9. Hamilton's week, meanwhile, was highlighted by his aforementioned three-homer game against Clearwater.

June 15 -- Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in four runs as Springfield clinched the first postseason berth in its three-year history with a 7-3 win over Wichita. It was the seventh straight victory for the Cardinals, who secured the North Division first-half title. Springfield went on to post a division-best 73-63 record for the season.

June 16 -- Palm Beach third baseman Allen Craig was named MVP of the Florida State League All-Star Game after his two-run homer helped power the Eastern Division All-Stars to an 8-4 victory. Craig went on to hit .312 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs in 112 games for Palm Beach. He ended the season with Double-A Springfield.
Audio: Craig's All-Star roundtripper
Video: Interview with Allen Craig

June 16 -- Rick Ankiel bashed three solo home runs to lead the visiting Memphis Redbirds to a 7-5 win over the Iowa Cubs. The hot-hitting outfielder went yard in the first, fourth, and eighth frames to increase his season total to 19, tied for most in the Pacific Coast League.
Video: Ankiel's third homer of the game

June 25 -- Springfield second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir was named Texas League Player of the Week after collecting 14 hits in 27 at-bats, raising his season average to .341. Hoffpauir continued to hit well over the course of the following week, and was promoted to Memphis on July 3.

July 2 -- Three hurlers in the Cardinals' organization were named Pitcher of the Week in their respective leagues, marking the only time this season that this notable trifecta was accomplished. Springfield's Adam Daniels won Texas League honors after allowing just one run and striking out 21 batters over 15 innings. Palm Beach's Adam Ottavino earned the nod in the Florida State League after tossing 14 shutout frames, and Tyler Herron of the Swing of the Quad Cities was recognized in the Midwest League after yielding one run in 10 innings.

July 4 -- Springfield's Mark Shorey turned in his best game of the season, as the former 31st-round draft pick smashed a pair of three-run homers to lead the Cardinals to a 10-2 victory over Midland. Shorey's three-run homer in the second inning highlighted a seven-run frame, while his dinger in the eighth capped the game's scoring. The 22-year-old outfielder hit 17 homers overall in 2007, split between three levels of play.

July 8 -- Quad Cities defeated Beloit, 9-4, in a game in which they scored all of their runs in the second inning. The bulk of the offense was provided by 26-year-old catcher Chris Grossman, who hit a two-run homer to get the Swing on the board, and capped the frame's scoring with a three-run blast. Grossman finished the season with six dingers in 300 at-bats.

July 9 -- The Cardinals' organization continued its run of impressive pitching performances, as a pair of hurlers earned Pitcher of the Week honors. Veteran Mike Smith earned the nod in the Pacific Coast League after turning in a pair of strong six-inning outings. Meanwhile, in the rookie-level Appalachian League, Johnson City's Nicholas Addition received recognition for a week in which he yielded one run in eight innings.

July 16 -- After hitting .458 for Springfield in his previous 24 at-bats, Mark Hamilton was named the Texas League's Player of the Week. The 22-year-old had been promoted to Springfield after hitting .290 and slugging 13 homers in 60 games with Palm Beach.

July 26 -- Chris Narveson and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Nick Stavinoha hit an RBI single in the ninth to give Memphis a walk-off win over Sacramento. Narveson went 5 2/3 frames before departing with a sore knee, and Matt Ginter then retired all four batters he faced. Troy Cate yielded a leadoff single in the eighth inning to end the no-hit bid, but earned the win after firing two scoreless innings.
Audio: Stavinoha's game-winning single

July 30 -- Steve Hill of the Swing of the Quad Cities was named the Midwest League's Player of the Week after a stretch in which he hit .467 and slugged .867. The versatile 22-year-old's week was highlighted by his performance against Burlington on July 27, when he slugged two homers and drove in five. Hill went on to hit .303 in 62 games with the Swing.

August 1 -- Tyler Norrick tossed a three-hit shutout -- his first as a professional -- as Palm Beach defeated Daytona, 2-0 to complete a doubleheader sweep. The 23-year-old lefty matched a season high with seven strikeouts and did not walk a batter en route to picking up his ninth win of the season. Norrick finished the year with an 11-9 record and 3.59 ERA over 28 starts. In the first game of the doubleheader, Luke Gorset hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead Palm Beach to a 7-2 victory.

August 1 -- Minor League veteran Tagg Bozied turned in the game of his life, as the 28-year-old homered twice and drove in eight runs to lead Memphis to a come-from-behind 16-13 win over Tacoma. Bozied blasted a two-run homer in the first inning, an RBI single in the sixth, a grand slam in the seventh and a run-scoring double in the ninth. The first baseman went on to hit .264 with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs for the Redbirds.
Audio: Bozied's two homers

August 9 -- After bashing a league-leading 32 home runs and slugging .568 as a member of the Redbirds, Rick Ankiel received a call-up to the St. Louis Cardinals. The celebrated pitcher-turned-slugger hit a home run in his first game with St. Louis, and finished with a .285 average and 11 homers in 172 at-bats.

August 13 -- Kenneth Maiques set the all-time Quad Cities' single-season save record as the Swing defeated Fort Wayne, 5-2. The 22-year-old hurled 1 1/3 scoreless innings en route to posting his 27th save, surpassing John Huey's previous record of 26 set in 1982. Maiques finished the season with a 1-5 record and 1.53 ERA in 52 appearances. His 31 saves led the Midwest League.

August 20 -- Springfield outfielder Colby Rasmus went 11-for-18 over just four games, and was named Texas League Player of the Week. The 21-year-old hit three doubles, two homers, and scored seven runs in the span, raising his average to .396 in the month of August.

August 22 -- Skip Schumaker smacked a career-high five hits and Memphis matched a season-high with five home runs as the Redbirds defeated Albuquerque in a 20-12 slugfest. Schumaker went 5-for-7 with a double and four runs scored, while Jarrett Hoffpauir, Nick Stavinoha, Joe Mather, Brian Barden and Danny Ardoin all went yard.

August 23 -- Eddie Degerman tossed 7 1/3 no-hit innings as Palm Beach defeated Jupiter, 3-1. The 23-year-old righty retired the first 14 batters he faced in the ballgame, and did not allow a Hammerhead batter to reach base safely until Lorenzo Scott, Jr. hit a line drive single to center field with one out in the eighth inning. Degerman tied his career high by striking out nine in the ballgame.

August 24 -- Edgar Gonzalez collected five hits and a career-high six RBIs to lead Memphis to a 12-5 win over Albuquerque. The 29-year-old Minor League veteran hit singles in his first two at-bats before blasting his first career grand slam in the fourth. He later added a pair of RBI singles to complete his memorable evening.
Audio: First career grand slam for Gonzalez

August 26 -- Tyler Herron and three relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Swing pulled out a 1-0, 11-inning victory over Cedar Rapids. Herron struck out seven and did not issue a walk in seven two-hit innings. Kyle Mura, Kenneth Maiques, and Kyle Sadlowski provided four innings of shutout relief. Quad Cities' Daryl Jones walked to lead off the eleventh inning and eventually scored on Mark Trumbo's throwing error. The Swing victory ended Cedar Rapids' 10-game winning streak.

August 27 -- The Texas League announced its postseason All-Star team, which included three Springfield players: catcher Bryan Anderson, outfielder Colby Rasmus, and closer Chris Perez. Anderson's .298 average ranked fifth in the league, while Rasmus led all Texas League batters with 29 home runs. Perez's 27 saves were the second most in the circuit.

August 27 -- Two Palm Beach Cardinals were named to the Florida State League All-Star team. Staff ace Adam Ottavino earned his spot by going 12-8 with a 3.08 ERA, while closer Luke Gregorson was named to the squad after converting 29 saves in 33 opportunities.

September 2 -- Despite losing their sixth straight game, the Swing of the Quad Cities clinched a spot in the Midwest League playoffs by virtue of a Kane County loss. The Swing also lost the next day, then got swept out of the postseason by the Beloit Snappers -- a lousy way to end the season for the Class A franchise, to say the least.

September 2 -- Home runs by Bryan Anderson and Mark Hamilton highlighted Springfield's 11-1 victory over Arkansas. With the win, the Cardinals clinched the Texas League's second-half North Division title. Springfield had already clinched a playoff spot as a result of winning the title in the season's first half.

September 4 -- Springfield's Mitchell Boggs put an exclamation point on the end of his regular season, as the Georgia native was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week. Boggs secured the honor on the strength of his eight shutout innings against Wichita on Aug. 30. Boggs finished the season with an 11-7 record and 3.84 ERA in 26 starts with Springfield.

September 7 -- Mark Hamilton hit three home runs and drove in seven as Springfield swept Tulsa out of the playoffs with a 16-8 victory. Hamilton -- whose seven RBIs were a career-high -- hit a two-run homer in the second inning, singled in the third, smacked a three-run homer in the sixth, and a two-run dinger in the seventh. Springfield earned the North Division Championship with the victory.

September 15 -- The San Antonio Missions defeated Springfield in Game 4 of the Texas League Finals to claim their fourth league championship in the past 11 seasons. The Cardinals were no-hit by the Missions for 6 2/3 innings before mounting a futile rally in the latter third of the ballgame.
Audio: Craig breaks up Missions' no-hit bid